New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani told business leaders that he would begin to discourage the use of the phrase “globalize the intifada” after being pressed on his views by Pfizer Inc. chief executive Albert Bourla, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist who shocked New York City’s business and political establishment by beating Andrew Cuomo in last month’s Democratic mayoral primary, met Tuesday with about 100 business leaders from the Partnership for New York City. The group is a 350-member coalition of the city’s largest banks, media companies, and investment, real estate, and law firms.
The meeting, which came at Mamdani’s request, is one of several scheduled this week between the Democratic nominee and the business community, which is grappling with the potential impact of Mamdani’s leadership on the city. Mamdani campaigned on promises to freeze the rent on affordable housing, and fund free buses and government-run grocery stores with new taxes on corporations and high-earners.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon last week criticized Mamdani and the Democratic reaction to his election, describing him as “more of a Marxist than a socialist.”
Bourla, whose grandparents perished at Auschwitz, moderated the event. Mamdani, an activist for Palestinian causes, has been criticized for refusing to denounce calls by anti-Israel protesters to “globalize the intifada,” a reference to the armed Palestinian uprisings against Israel. Bourla in 2020 struck an agreement with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use Israel as a test case for Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine.
In Tuesday’s meeting, Mamdani appeared to relent on the matter, the people said, saying he would discourage such language going forward.
But on other subjects the Queens assemblyman held firm, reiterating his goals and brushing off concerns about higher taxes by saying wealthy New Yorkers would stay put regardless, the people said. Mamdani also said he’d consider, but wouldn’t commit, to keeping police commissioner Jessica Tisch, the people said.
Her father, Loews Corp. chairman James Tisch, was at the meeting. Other attendees included Uber Technologies Inc. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Hearst Corp. CEO Steve Swartz, Related Cos CEO Jeff Blau, and Centerview Partners’ co-founder Blair Effron, the people said.
“Zohran appreciated the meeting today, and felt it was a constructive, honest discussion,” Jeffrey Lerner, a spokesman for Mamdani’s campaign, said in a statement. “We look forward to the opportunity to build on this conversation, even in navigating disagreement on fiscal policy. Zohran continues to believe that working in partnership is the best way to deliver an affordable city for all New Yorkers.”
In Tuesday’s meeting, Mamdani also told attendees he would examine the New York City Department of Education for waste and duplication, and that he would look to use the World Cup as an opportunity to build up city infrastructure.
Mamdani has been making efforts to consolidate traditional institutions behind his candidacy ahead of November’s Mayoral race, which could prove unusually competitive in a heavily blue city where the Democratic nominee has been all but assured of victory in recent elections.
He will face off against four other candidates: incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, former governor Cuomo, and attorney Jim Walden — all of whom are running as independents — as well as Republican Curtis Sliwa.
President Donald Trump, who has described Mamdani as a “communist lunatic,” said this week that Cuomo should stay in the race, even after losing by more than 12 percentage points to Mamdani in the primary.
